Blue pill

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Blue mass. (Discuss)

For the blue pill in The Matrix and references thereto from other pop media, see bluepill

In medicine, the blue pill, also called the pilula hydrargyri, was a remedy prescribed for various ailments, particularly constipation. It contained 1/3 elemental mercury by weight, mixed with marshmallow, honey of rose, liquorice, glycerin, and inert ingredients to form pills of about 48 grains in weight.

A combination of the blue pill, and a mixture called the common black draught, was a standard cure for constipation in early 19th century England and elsewhere. It was particularly valued on ships of the Royal Navy, where sailors and officers were constrained to eat rock-hard salted beef and pork, old, stale biscuits, and very little fruit, fiber, or other fresh food once they were some distance from land on a long voyage.

[edit] See also

• Blue mass

[edit] External links

• King's American Dispensatory, 1898.

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.